


Opportunity

by Rosie2009



Series: Red Dead Redemption Fanfiction [4]
Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28965597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosie2009/pseuds/Rosie2009
Summary: Arthur sees a golden opportunity to sketch his favorite girl and gladly takes it.
Relationships: Tilly Jackson/Arthur Morgan
Series: Red Dead Redemption Fanfiction [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1409836
Comments: 5
Kudos: 9





	Opportunity

Arthur was never the opportunistic type, unlike Dutch and Hosea. Arthur was more of the type to simply go with the flow and provide necessary enforcement when the others found the golden—or green— sheen of monetary possibility or otherwise.

But this time… He could not let this opportunity go to waste.

It had been by complete accident that he found her sitting there by the lakeside upon a log as she gazed at the sunset during one of the painstakingly few breaks that Miss Grimshaw offered her.

Tilly Jackson. A true and natural beauty she was as she perched there on that old, dry tree, the red and orange hues of the light hanging low in the sky shining gorgeously upon her skin. It gave her an almost otherworldly look as she bathed in the last small glimpses of the sun.

His heart ached and squeezed painfully as he looked at her, and he immediately felt his hand moving to his satchel to withdraw his journal. After all, when Arthur saw something of such beauty and grandeur, he simply had to try to capture it.

It seemed selfish, he knew, to try to preserve some piece of this gorgeousness for himself, but he found he truly could not quite resist.

So he withdrew his journal and sat down on a nearby rock not too far from her spot so that he was close enough to capture her features but not near enough to pull her attention to his actions.

He knew he would not be able to capture the beauty of the colors on her face, and if he was being completely honest with himself, he truly just wanted to take any opportunity he had to draw her.

He began with the gentle slope of the bridge of her nose before drawing the smoothness of her forehead, using quick strokes of the pencil in order to capture simply a rough outline before he went back and refined the work. However, he took special care in the outline of her lips, wetting his own as he absently considered what hers might feel like upon them.

Arthur soon found himself so immersed in the sketch that he lost track of everything else, his pencil recreating the astounding view before him.

But before he knew it, he was almost yanked from this lovely world of his own by the best possible interruption. His eyes widened as he looked up at the young woman standing over him with her hands on her hips.

“Huh?” he somewhat dumbly replied, his eyes wide as he looked at her. Unfortunately, though, almost as some sort of residual effect of his prior thoughts, his eyes immediately dropped from her eyes to her mouth. As soon as they did, though, he quickly moved them back into territory that was not quite so dangerous.

However, as soon as he met her eyes, he realized that they were sparkling with mischief and something else that he could not quite identify.

“Arthur, did you hear a thing I said?” she questioned, playful exasperation in her every word.

“I’m sorry to say I did not,” he replied respectfully as always, dipping his head a little with the admission, and she rolled her eyes good-naturedly before smiling knowingly.

“I asked if you were drawing me,” she repeated herself, a grin spreading across her face as she looked down at his journal. He flushed embarrassedly, trying to hide his face under his hat. Arthur knew he had been caught, but he still felt the need to at least preserve some shred of his dignity as he admitted his doings.

“Yes, I was,” he confessed, and he dared not look up into her face in fear of what emotions he might see there.

To his surprise, Arthur felt her presence beside him on his rock as she leaned her shoulder against him and the smell of flowery perfume wafted to his nose. It was generally a scent that he associated with Mary-Beth, and it was at that moment that he realized Tilly must have borrowed some from the bookish girl.

“Can I see?” she questioned. He sighed deeply, figuring that there was no harm in letting her see the drawing now that she knew about it. So, Arthur tilted the book in her direction, allowing her to take it. She gently grabbed it and pulled it into her lap.

Arthur braced himself, waiting on her verdict, even though he knew that she was far too kind to ever say anything negative about his depiction of her.

“Arthur, it’s… It’s absolutely beautiful!” she breathily spoke, and he tilted his head a little so that while most of his face was still concealed by his hat, he could see her sweet face.

To his complete surprise, Tilly appeared to be completely enamored by the drawing, her face alight with happiness and pure enthrallment. He had to admit, it was a beautiful look on her, and he could not help but stare in amazement.

“You are an amazing artist, Arthur Morgan,” she smiled widely. He immediately blinked and coughed a little, scratching at the back of his neck as he grinned in a manner that more greatly resembled baring his teeth.

“Well, now, Miss Jackson, I ain’t no artist. Just an old man with his pencils,” he told her with a small chuckle, and she furrowed her brow, smacking his arm lightly. He laughed a little more at her reaction.

“Nonsense! It’s gorgeous, and you very well know it,” she bossily informed him, and he shook his head with a genuine smile.

“Alright, your Majesty,” he huffed good-naturedly, and she smiled, puffing up a little as she stood up before him.

“I do hereby decree that this is a beautiful drawing, and that you should think so, too,” she informed him in something that was supposed to resemble a British accent as she waved the journal at him in a scolding manner. It was truly terrible, but Arthur found it extremely endearing anyway.

“Well, if you like it so much, why don’t you keep it?” he questioned, raising an eyebrow as he lifted his head to better look at her. Her eyes widened at his offer and she squeezed the journal a bit tighter in her hands.

“Really?”

“Of course, you seem to love it a lot more than I ever could,” he told her with a smile, nodding to her kindly. He angled his head downward a little as he looked at the sand by the lake.

“Besides, it’s too pretty for me, anyway,” he mumbled under his breath as an afterthought.

“Thank you, Arthur!!!” she excitedly spoke, and he looked up at her to reply.

However, as soon as he did, she leaned down and kissed his cheek gently before hurrying off, sending his eyes flying wide open and his jaw slackening at the sudden occurrence. Once he had taken the feeling in, Arthur leaned forward, watching her go, and after a long moment, he shook his head.

He may not have been opportunistic like Dutch or Hosea, but, boy, was he glad he took that opportunity.


End file.
